Around The NFL - 2007

[PhillyPhanInDC]

nm

[rjs246]

Vince Young laterals to an OL with the game on the line.  Colts win 22-20

typical.

[BigEd76]

Buffalo opens as a 16.5-point underdog at New England 

[Geowhizzer]

Buffalo opens as a 16.5-point underdog at New England 

Bet on NE.  Heavily.

Oh, wait, I don't gamble. Never mind.

[rjs246]

TMQ does a great job of laying out the potential repercussions and hints at the possible depth of the Patriots cheating ways.

One of the better TMQ articles I've read recently.

Highlights:

Why is the situation worse than people think? Because the NFL is on the precipice of blowing its status as the country's favorite sport. The whole NFL enterprise is in jeopardy from that single word: cheating. It's the most distasteful word in sports. And now the Patriots have brought the word into the NFL.

Think the NFL can't decline? Fifteen years ago, the National Basketball Association was going up, up, up by every measure and was widely considered the gold-plated can't-miss "sport of the next century." Since then, NBA popularity and ratings have plummeted while NBA-based teams have floundered in international competition. At the moment of its maximum success, the NBA became overconfident and arrogant in ways that need not be recounted here. Key point: There was no law of nature that said the NBA had to stay popular, and it did not.

Today the NFL is king of the hill in sports status, ratings, merchandising and association with the American psyche. There is no law of nature that says the NFL has to stay popular. Overconfidence and arrogance could be the downfall of the NFL, too – and we might be on that precipice. People will always watch and play football, of course. But nothing guarantees that the NFL's version of football must remain the super-successful money machine that it is today. There could be autumn Sunday afternoons in the near future in which the overwhelming majority of Americans couldn't care less what NFL games are being shown. Fifteen years ago, sports-marketing types would have said "impossible!" to the notion that only 11 percent of American households would watch the NBA Finals, which is what happened this June. Plummeting popularity for NFL broadcasts seems "impossible!" right now, but might happen fast enough to make your head swim.

Criminal behavior by NFL players, haughty owners who demand public subsidies, negative press for the union, coaches who snarl at the public instead of acting grateful for their privileged positions, insufferable egotism from multimillionaire athletes: All these things can be overlooked as long as the games themselves are good. If the games themselves are tainted, the NFL could tumble with amazing speed. And now there is a cheating scandal – cheating by the team that presented itself as the epitome of the sport – which calls the games themselves into question.

First we learn that the Patriots were cheating by using video equipment to steal signs, in blatant violation of league rules. Then we learn that even after the scandal broke and Bill Belichick issued his Nixonian stonewalling statement, the Patriots were still keeping sign-stealing videotapes and notes from past games. Surrender of the tapes and notes was the subject of Goodell's emergency order, first reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Sunday night on NBC's "Football Night in America," Goodell threatened more punishment of the Patriots if all cheating materials aren't surrendered, and repeatedly declared it was imperative that NFL games be fair and equal competition. That's exactly the crux of the threat Belichick has created to the league's golden goose.

And the Patriots' cheating might have been more extensive than so far confirmed. Fox Sports reported that former NFL players believe Belichick had microphones installed in the shoulder pads of defensive linemen so the Patriots could tape other teams' offensive audibles and line calls. Needless to say, putting microphones on players violates NFL rules. Andrea Kremer of NBC reported that several teams might charge the Patriots this week with having stolen playbooks from the visitors' dressing room. The convenient "malfunction" of visiting teams' headphones at the Patriots' two fields under Belichick seems to have happened far too often to be an IT department error. The rumor mill says Belichick, Richard Nixon-style, has file cabinets of info on opposing coaches and assistant coaches – some gleaned honestly, some obtained by cheating.

It seems more than just an eerie coincidence that Belichick's unethical behavior involves illicit taping, the same offense that made Nixon's actions so sordid. The parallels to Nixon don't stop there. Caught, Belichick – like Nixon – tried to hide the true extent of the prohibited acts; Belichick – like Nixon – tried to claim his prohibited action hadn't been prohibited; Belichick – like Nixon – immediately stonewalled. It would be tempting to break the unhappy tone of this column with a Nixon joke – when the league plays Belichick's tape of the Jets' sideline, will there be an 18-and-a-half minute gap? But for all lovers of the NFL, there's just nothing to laugh about now.

The Patriots announced they have hired "Swede" Risberg to investigate cheating allegations against the team.
What else is there about New England cheating that the team or league isn't telling us? Are the Patriots one bad apple, or is cheating common in the league? Worst, did the Patriots cheat in their Super Bowl wins? If New England was cheating in the Super Bowl, this will become the darkest sports scandal since Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox. If you don't think Goodell and all owners, including Robert Kraft of New England, are in abject terror of any possible disclosure that the Patriots were cheating in the Super Bowl, perhaps you just don't understand the situation.

The weasel wording of Belichick's Nixonian statement shows the New England coach full of contempt for the NFL fans, and the NFL enterprise, that made him a wealthy celebrity. Belichick declared that his super-elaborate cheating system was only a "mistake" caused by his "interpretation" of the league's rule. Wait, "interpretation"? The NFL rule bans teams from filming each other's sidelines. There's no room for interpretation, it's a ban! Here's the NFL policy, from a memo sent to all head coaches and general managers Sept. 6, 2006: "Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game." Prohibited. There's nothing there to "interpret." Videotaping opponent's signals even after getting this warning isn't a "mistake," it's cheating. Belichick's cheating was not some casual spur-of-the-moment blunder but rather an elaborate staffed system that took a lot of work to put into place and that Belichick worked hard to hide. And you don't hide something unless you are ashamed of it.

Now, caught, Belichick wants a special exemption to responsibility for his own choices. Belichick also is trying to close the matter by saying he won't talk about it anymore. So he cheated and now unilaterally declares the matter closed because he doesn't want to face the consequences of his own choices. But this is not over and not going away. Before the cheating scandal, Belichick had a reputation for being heartless but a really good coach. Now, he seems little more than a creepy con artist, and it's the refusal to act like a man and take full responsibility that's really offensive. Goodell's draft-choice penalty against the Patriots – either a first or a second and a third – is the highest draft penalty ever imposed in the NFL. The severity of this sanction shows how seriously Goodell takes the violation. If more disclosures are coming, there might be a lot more punishment of the Patriots. And unless Belichick comes clean and stops lying about his cheating, this event should disqualify him from consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame – it is, after all, not the Hall of Cheaters.

Will Belichick even be in coaching by season's end? When the Vick dogfighting scandal first broke, most football pundits, and most in the Atlanta and league offices, thought there would be few repercussions. Then they thought Vick would have to make some kind of apology. Then they thought he'd need some leave of absence. Then they thought he'd be suspended for a year. Now they wonder whether he'll ever be allowed to play again. By acting Nixonian, Belichick is accelerating his fall from grace. Today, Belichick and New England are trying to pretend the scandal is over. It would not surprise me in the slightest if, before the season ends, Belichick resigns, or is suspended, or is fired by Kraft, or even is permanently barred from the league. Belichick's head might be necessary to preserve the integrity of the game. Surprisingly soon, sacrificing Belichick to save professional football might seem an attractive option, even to Kraft. Remember, there is no law of nature that says the NFL must remain popular.

[Father Demon]

IF it's proven that the cheating was as widespread as rumored, and IF it's proven that Belichick was the mastermind, keeper, and guard of the black secrets, then there is no doubt he needs to be fired, banned, and put out of the leagues misery.  Also with any of his lieutenants that were part of the scandal.  In addition, the team needs to be punished severely for it's part.

How inappropriate and egotistical and in-your-face was Kraft's decision to award Belichick the game ball this Sunday?  Sure, I get the imagery that it was a gesture of solidarity and support, but it still was a huge smack across the face to the very organization that lets these people reap millions of dollars every year.

And, what does the NFL do about the three Super Bowls if evidence of cheating is found to have occurred in just one of them? 

This is an ugly situation, and it requires swift and severe punishment.

[BigEd76]

Atlanta signed Leftwich to a 2-yr deal

[Sgt PSN]

IF it's proven that the cheating was as widespread as rumored, and IF it's proven that Belichick was the mastermind, keeper, and guard of the black secrets, then there is no doubt he needs to be fired, banned, and put out of the leagues misery.  Also with any of his lieutenants that were part of the scandal.  In addition, the team needs to be punished severely for it's part.

Obviously this goes alot deeper than I initially thought (I thought it was just sign stealing) but if it turns out that there's solid evidence about them illegally video taping defensive signals prior to the Jets and micing up players to learn their audibles and stealing playbooks, etc, etc, etc.  Then I don't see how the league can do anything other than ban him for life ala Shoeless Joe and anyone else with working knowledge of it.

How inappropriate and egotistical and in-your-face was Kraft's decision to award Belichick the game ball this Sunday?  Sure, I get the imagery that it was a gesture of solidarity and support, but it still was a huge smack across the face to the very organization that lets these people reap millions of dollars every year.

I think that Kraft was just trying to show support.  To my knowledge there's nothing linking Kraft directly to any of this or even implying that he knew it was happening.  I think that was just a businessman in the public eye making a PR type move.  Behind closed doors though I bet he's already told Belicheck that this better not come back to bite him in the ass in the public eye. 

And, what does the NFL do about the three Super Bowls if evidence of cheating is found to have occurred in just one of them?

Tough call and I think that depends on whether it's proven that players took an active part in the cheating.  If they did, then I think that the NFL needs to strip the team of their titles without hesitation.  If the cheating was strictly perpetrated by the coaching staff then there's a lot of grey area imo because I don't know if the players should be punished for having a crooked coaching staff. 

Regardless, what I DO NOT want to see happen is the NFL retroactively award the championship to The Rams, Panthers and Eagles.  I'm hurting just as much as anyone to see this team win a championship and I would absolutely hate for the 1st one to come this way.  It would be meaningless as far as I'm concerned.....regardless of what Reno Mahe thinks. 

This is an ugly situation, and it requires swift and severe punishment.

Ugly, yes.  But what it requires right now is a swift but extremely thorough investigation before handing out punishments. 

[Father Demon]

Exactly why I predicated it all with the big IF..   prove first, then punish if found guilty.

And I agree with you on awarding the SB's to the losers.  It's not the way I want to witness the first Eagles SB victory, but then again it may be the only one I see in my lifetime.  Hmmm......

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a sec:

With all the players out there like Vinatieri, Givens, and Branch that the Patriots got rid of or wouldn't pay... would not one of them have blown the whistle by now?

[SunMo]

you stole that directly from Bill Simmons article today

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I kid you not when I say I haven't read a Bill Simmons article in at least a couple of months.

I do work with a bunch of Patriots fans now, though, so that could be part of my problem.

[SunMo]

His whiney homer defense of his butt buddy

Wouldn't one disgruntled ex-Pat over the past five years (and there have been many) have blown the whistle on them just to stick it to Belichick?

[reese125]

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a sec:

With all the players out there like Vinatieri, Givens, and Branch that the Patriots got rid of or wouldn't pay... would not one of them have blown the whistle by now?

whos saying Brady or those players mentioned even knew about it. I think stealing playbooks, microphones on shoulderpads (which would be the strongest microphones ever made by humans), and any of the other stuff is garbage.

[SD_Eagle5]

Some of the tape that was confiscated